Saudi Aramco made a strong showing at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (SPE-ATCE) in Dallas last week, as Sami A. Al-Nuaim, manager of Aramco’s Petroleum Engineering Application Services department, was named president of the international organization for 2019.
Four Aramco researchers were also honored with distinguished awards on the occasion.
In his keynote address at the annual conference, Al-Nuaim stressed the importance of the energy industry reaching out to talented students, embracing technological change and quantifying and communicating the industry’s outstanding global sustainability performance. More than 8,000 engineers and technocrats attended the summit.
It is the second time that a Saudi Aramco petroleum engineer has been named to lead the distinguished professional organization since it was officially formed in 1957 from predecessor organizations, the American Institute of Mining Engineers (AIME), which dates back to 1871.
Al-Nuaim spoke of the oil and gas industry’s focus on energy sustainability as a means of correcting public misconceptions and attracting new talent.
“We are dedicated to enabling innovation through the application of science and imagination. That’s how we contribute to our communities, our industry, our world,” the new SPE chief said.
“At Saudi Aramco, we believe that innovation is the key to helping people reap the benefits from all the opportunities inherent in our resources and their resultant products.”
Al-Nuaim said the industry has made continuous progress reducing its carbon footprint, and cited the work of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), an organization of industry leaders including main founding member Saudi Aramco, committed to reducing the collective, average methane intensity of their core upstream operations to below 2.25 percent by 2025. He noted that the addition of three major US oil and gas companies into OGCI is a major milestone.
Al-Nuaim said that he plans to build strong bridges between geoscience schools around the world to share top academic programs and curricula and strengthen their programs by reflecting recent advances in technology and engagement with communities.
This interaction, he said, will help produce “citizen engineers” who innovate, advance the industry, and most importantly, care about the community and environment.
Also at SPE-ATCE, Faisal N. Al-Nughaimish, manager of Saudi Aramco’s Gas Drilling department, joined SPE’s board after the three-year term of Khalid A. Zainalabedin, manager of the Reservoir Description and Simulation department, ended.
The leadership roles held by Saudi Aramco officials are a reflection of the important membership base the SPE has in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and a long, mutually beneficial relationship between the SPE and the company.
Al-Nuaim joined SPE in 1983 when still a student at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. He is one of the many Aramco engineers who have had made significant contributions to the organization’s scientific fronts.
